Cablegate: Santiago Oct. 22 Media Report
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SUBJECT: Santiago Oct. 22 Media Report
Lead Story
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1. The National Teachers Association will go on an
indefinite national strike tomorrow that will affect public
schools. Teachers claim the government owes them a special bonus
to pay for the paychecks and jobs lost when the administration of
public schools was moved from the Ministry of Education to
municipalities in 1981. They call this a "historical debt" (All
dailies, 10/22).
U.S.-Related News
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2. Otto Reich and Jeffrey Davidow are some of the former
Assistant Secretaries of State to Latin America who wrote the U.S.
Senate a letter expressing concern for the delay in the
confirmation of several officials, including Arturo Valenzuela.
The delay, says the letter, could compromise U.S. interests in the
region with regard to immigration, energy, trade, and
counternarcotics efforts (Conservative, influential El Mercurio,
10/22).
"Salitre" Military Exercise
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3. Peru, which initially rejected Chile's invitation to
send observers to the "Salitre" exercise, will now send its Air
Force Attach???? in Santiago to the exercise on October 28. Peru
reviewed its decision after Chile agreed to change the hypothetical
scenario of the exercise (El Mercurio, 10/22).
4. Peru's Defense Ministry is open to the possibility of
sending its Air Force Attach???? in Santiago to observe the "Salitre"
exercise on October 28 (Conservative, independent, La Tercera,
10/22).
5. Photographs of the different types of aircraft
participating in the "Salitre" exercise in Antofagasta (Popular Las
Ultimas Noticias, 10/22).
6 Peruvian Prime Minister Javier Velasquez said that a
delegation from Lima would be traveling to UNASUR countries to
gather support for the signature of a non-aggression pact to stop
an alleged arms race in the region, as proposed by President Alan
Garcia (Government-owned La Nacion, 10/22).
Atomic Energy
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7. International Energy Agency Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka
is in Chile to deliver the agency's assessment report of Chile's
electricity sector. "We understand that there is concern over the
use of hydroelectricity and nuclear energy in Chile, but these
technologies are needed as a source and as part of the solution,"
said Tanaka. He said that the future lies in the development of
sustainable and efficient energy and investment in alternative
energy sources, such as the sun and the sea (El Mercurio, 10/22).
SIMONS